Victoria Phillips is a third-year PharmD candidate at the University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.
When I was 9 years old, my neighbor had extra tickets to a hockey game in Hartford, CT. It wasn’t a sport I knew anything about (much less at 9 years old) and wasn’t exactly how I wanted to spend a Saturday night. But I was dragged along. We were sitting high up, and it was so cold I didn’t take my hat, gloves, or hoodie off. I didn't know anything that was happening, but I remember two things. Firstly, I had a cowbell with a whale’s tail on it, and secondly, I made it on the jumbotron (but didn’t realize until the last second).
Fast forward to about 2017, I joined a Youth Action Club in my town that regularly got tickets to UConn basketball games and the Hartford Wolfpack games. After attending my second-ever hockey game, I was hooked. I looked forward to going to those games with my club members, sitting close, and yelling during fights.
It wasn't until 2022, during my junior year of undergrad, that I attended my first UConn hockey game. Going with my roommates to PeoplesBank Arena, watching us get absolutely destroyed (7–3 loss for us) but feeling the amazing atmosphere with everyone supporting them, was awesome. Once the Toscano Family Ice Forum opened in January 2023, it was over. I was obsessed with going to games (both men's and women’s) and have continued to do so.
The chaos of hockey and pharmacy school
Once I started pharmacy school, I made sure I still went to games when I could. If I held myself accountable during the week, completed my assignments, and studied hard, I could allow myself to go and attend Friday and Saturday night games.
Pharmacy school is chaotic, at least for me. Keeping up with my academics, clubs and organizations, and the three jobs I work simultaneously often can overwhelm me and lead to burnout, especially during my first year. Hockey is chaotic as well—keeping an eye on the puck, watching for interesting plays, looking for possible penalties, and of course, being excited for fights. After a long week of school, I love throwing myself into the chaos that is a hockey game.
Have something to look forward to
It’s easy to get lost in the top 200 drugs, medicinal chemistry, and everything else in between. Maybe mine is a slightly random form of self-care, but everyone should have something they can look forward to, especially with the rigors of pharmacy school. Getting into hockey has given me the opportunity to talk to new people and make connections. I even met a former Finnish player at the pharmacy recently!
If I’m not watching a hockey game, I’m reading a hockey book or watching a hockey show, which there has not been a shortage of recently. It’s truly been my favorite self-care hobby during pharmacy school.